CMD-tips and utils for files and folders

Script below is a sample of calling another CMD-file and redirecting screen output (including errors) to a logfile with current time.

@echo off
echo *** Ready to run other cmd-file ?
pause
echo.
echo *** Started running.. check logfile for the progress..

REM *** Get current date and time in the desired format
REM *** Script assumes swedish date and time format. (YYYY-MM-DD and HH:mm:ss,xx)

for /f "tokens=1-3 delims=-" %%a in ('echo %date%') do (
    set "year=%%a"
    set "datestamp=!year:~-2!%%b%%c"
)

for /f "tokens=1-3 delims=:," %%a in ('echo %time%') do (
    set "hour=%%a"
    set "minute=%%b"
    set "seconds=%%c"
)
set "secdig=%seconds:~0,2%"

REM *** Add leading zero to hour if it is a single digit
if 1%hour% lss 110 set "hour=0%hour%"


call othercmdfile.cmd > "logfile-%datestamp%-%hour%%minute%%secdig%.txt" 2>&1
echo.
echo *** Completed! See status in the generated log-file.
pause

The batch-script below can be used to rename files, it will ask for search and replace strings.

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

set /p "search=Enter the string to search for: "
set /p "replace=Enter the string to replace with: "

for %%F in (*%search%*.txt) do (
    set "filename=%%~nF"
    set "newname=!filename:%search%=%replace%!"
    ren "%%F" "!newname!%%~xF"
)

endlocal

Cross-platform Powershell:
https://aka.ms/pscore6

 

The Powershell-script below can be used to search for and remove an XML-element from all XML-files in chosen folder.
Running the script it will ask for folder and name of XML-element.

Default value for XML-element is "sheetProtection" as it primary use was to remove sheet-passwords in Excel-documents.
 (rename xlsx-files to "zip", extract zip into folder, and then use powershell-script on folder ".\xl\worksheets"

Suggested name for powershell-file: "remove-xml-elem.ps1" 

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
Add-Type -AssemblyName Microsoft.VisualBasic

# Function to show File Browser Dialog as a folder selector
function Select-FolderDialog {
    $fileDialog = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.OpenFileDialog
    $fileDialog.Title = "Select a folder or paste a path"
    $fileDialog.Filter = "Folders|nonesuch"
    $fileDialog.CheckFileExists = $false
    $fileDialog.ValidateNames = $false
    $fileDialog.FileName = "Folder Selection"
    
    if ($fileDialog.ShowDialog() -eq [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::OK) {
        return [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($fileDialog.FileName)
    } else {
        return $null
    }
}

# Function to get the encoding of an XML file
function Get-Encoding {
    param (
        [string]$filePath
    )
    $encoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::Default
    $reader = New-Object System.IO.StreamReader($filePath, $encoding, $true)
    $reader.Read() | Out-Null  # Read to detect encoding
    $detectedEncoding = $reader.CurrentEncoding
    $reader.Close()
    return $detectedEncoding
}

# Step 1: Select the Folder
$folderPath = Select-FolderDialog

if (-not $folderPath) {
    Write-Host "No folder selected. Exiting script."
    exit
}

# Step 2: Enter the XML element to remove with default value
$elementToRemove = [Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction]::InputBox(
    "Enter the name of the XML element to remove:", 
    "XML Element Remover", 
    "sheetProtection"  # Default value
)

if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($elementToRemove)) {
    Write-Host "No XML element name entered. Exiting script."
    exit
}

# Step 3: Process the XML files
$xmlFiles = Get-ChildItem -Path $folderPath -Filter *.xml
$fileCount = 0

foreach ($file in $xmlFiles) {
    $originalEncoding = Get-Encoding -filePath $file.FullName

    # Read the file content using StreamReader
    $reader = New-Object System.IO.StreamReader($file.FullName, $originalEncoding)
    $xmlContent = $reader.ReadToEnd()
    $reader.Close()

    $xmlDoc = New-Object System.Xml.XmlDocument
    $xmlDoc.PreserveWhitespace = $true

    try {
        $xmlDoc.LoadXml($xmlContent)
    } catch {
        Write-Host "Failed to load XML file: $($file.FullName). Error: $($_.Exception.Message)"
        continue
    }

    $nodes = $xmlDoc.SelectNodes("//*[local-name()='$elementToRemove']")
    if ($nodes.Count -eq 0) {
        Write-Host "No elements named '$elementToRemove' found in $($file.FullName)."
    } else {
        foreach ($node in $nodes) {
            $node.ParentNode.RemoveChild($node) | Out-Null
        }

        # Save the updated content with the original encoding using StreamWriter
        $writer = New-Object System.IO.StringWriter
        $xmlTextWriter = New-Object System.Xml.XmlTextWriter($writer)
        $xmlTextWriter.Formatting = 'None'
        $xmlDoc.WriteContentTo($xmlTextWriter)
        $xmlTextWriter.Flush()

        $streamWriter = New-Object System.IO.StreamWriter($file.FullName, $false, $originalEncoding)
        $streamWriter.Write($writer.ToString())
        $streamWriter.Close()

        $fileCount++
    }
}

# Step 4: Show completion message
[System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show("Processed $fileCount XML file(s). XML elements removed successfully!", "Success", [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons]::OK, [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxIcon]::Information)

Search-words: excel powershell

Simple Powershell-script that will create a log file with current date and time. 

$scriptDir = Split-Path -Parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition # Get the current directory (where the script is located)
$logDir = Join-Path -Path $scriptDir -ChildPath "log" # Define the path for the log folder

if (-not (Test-Path -Path $logDir)) {
    New-Item -Path $logDir -ItemType Directory # Create the log directory if it doesn't exist
}

$currentDateTime = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"
$logMessage = "The logged date and time is: " + [Environment]::NewLine + "$currentDateTime"

$outputFile = Join-Path -Path $logDir -ChildPath "script-log.txt" # Define the output file path inside the log folder
$logMessage | Out-File -FilePath $outputFile -Encoding UTF8 # Write the message to the text file

# Optional: Print confirmation to console
Write-Host "Date and time logged to $outputFile"

schtasks /Delete /TN "KeePassXC-elevated" /F

Try using the command below to create a Scheduled Task that will run "on logon":
 (Use XML-sample below instead, as this will stop when running a laptop on battery..)

schtasks /create /tn "KeePassXC-elevated"  /tr "\"C:\Prg\KeePassXC\KeePassXC.exe\"" /sc ONLOGON  /rl HIGHEST /f

Show info for scheduled task with name "keepassxc-elevated":

schtasks /Query /TN "KeePassXC-elevated" /V /FO LIST

Delete a scheduled task:

schtasks /Delete /TN "KeePassXC-elevated" /F

Register scheduled task using XML:

schtasks /Create /TN "KeePassXC-elevated" /XML "C:\Prg\KeePassXC\keepassxc-startup.xml" /F

Sample-XML for the file "keepassxc-startup.xml":

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<Task version="1.2" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2004/02/mit/task">
  <Triggers>
    <LogonTrigger>
      <Enabled>true</Enabled>
    </LogonTrigger>
  </Triggers>

  <Principals>
    <Principal id="Author">
      <!-- Modify COMPUTERNAME\USERNAME on the line below -->
      <UserId>COMPUTERNAME\USERNAME</UserId>
      <LogonType>InteractiveToken</LogonType>
      <RunLevel>HighestAvailable</RunLevel>
    </Principal>
  </Principals>

  <Settings>
    <Enabled>true</Enabled>

    <!-- "Stop Task If Runs X Hours and X Mins" -->
    <!-- 72 hours = P3D. Use PT0S for "no limit". -->
    <ExecutionTimeLimit>PT0S</ExecutionTimeLimit>
    <DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>false</DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>
    <StopIfGoingOnBatteries>false</StopIfGoingOnBatteries>
  </Settings>

  <Actions Context="Author">
    <Exec>
      <Command>C:\Prg\KeePassXC\KeePassXC.exe</Command>
    </Exec>
  </Actions>
</Task>

Use script below to get a list of all startup applications in Windows:

Get-CimInstance Win32_StartupCommand | Select-Object Name, Command, Location, User | Format-List

Get the list in a "grid":

Get-CimInstance Win32_StartupCommand | Select-Object Name, Command, Location, User | Out-GridView

https://www.makeuseof.com/powershell-command-startup-app-windows-doesnt-show/

Processes by memory use, sorted descending:

Get-Process |
Sort-Object WorkingSet64 -Descending |
Format-Table ProcessName, Id,
    @{Label='WorkingSetMB'; Expression={[math]::Round($_.WorkingSet64 / 1MB, 2)}},
    @{Label='PrivateMB'; Expression={[math]::Round($_.PrivateMemorySize64 / 1MB, 2)}} -AutoSize

Powershell-script that will list all code-files in a Visual Studio solution.
Useful for generating questions to AI regarding folder/file-structure. 

$extensions = '.cs', '.csproj', '.sln', '.razor', '.json', '.config'
$excluded = '\\(bin|obj|\.vs)(\\|$)'

Get-ChildItem -Path . -Recurse -Force |
  Where-Object {
    $_.FullName -notmatch $excluded -and
    (
      ($_.PSIsContainer -and -not (Get-ChildItem -Path $_.FullName -Force)) -or
      (-not $_.PSIsContainer -and $_.Extension -in $extensions)
    )
  } |
  Sort-Object FullName |
  Select-Object -ExpandProperty FullName |
  Set-Content .\folders-files-list.txt